Jack Hunt STEM Center

Austin Peay State University Jack Hunt STEM Center

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The focus of the STEM Center is to promote scientific literacy in our region and beyond, as well as facilitate effective preparation and support for teaching STEM subjects.

Eriksson College of Education, Austin Peay State University
Established: 2006

https://www.apsu.edu/jack-hunt-stem-center/

Vision and Goals

Our primary goal is to become a leader for promoting scientific literacy, shaping evidence-based mindsets, and for developing science educators and researchers who will lead another generation toward greater critical thinking and problem-solving.

Center/Program Structure

The Jack Hunt STEM Center functions as a collaboration between the College of STEM and the Eriksson College of Education where it is housed at Austin Peay State University. The focus of the STEM Center is to facilitate effective preparation and support for teaching STEM subjects. For our pre-service teachers, we are able to provide a state-of-the-art science classroom for science methods courses. In this room, prospective teachers gain familiarity with a variety of scientific equipment and technologies appropriate for their future classes. Moreover, pre-service teachers are immersed in the nature of inquiry-based, student-centered science through engaging activities and projects. Given the paucity of sophisticated science equipment found in many schools, pre-service teacher candidates are encouraged to bring their creativity to the classroom and bring fresh perspectives to the development of lessons using economical materials.

As the pre-service teachers enter the profession regionally, we try to support them with access to STEM materials and equipment they learned to use in APSU methods courses. For our regional in-service teachers, the Jack Hunt STEM Center offers continuing education seminars and workshops throughout the year. As we continue to grow, we hope to be able to offer some supplies and equipment support to area school districts. Limited access to the STEM Center is available to local teachers wishing to schedule specific lessons in the lab for their students.

Are there advantages of being structured this way?
Being a mid-sized university, our structure allows us to communicate with and collaborate with colleagues across campus in the College of STEM while forming close relationships with preservice teachers as well as school professionals. This three-way collaborative opportunity allows us to be intune to the real needs of the K-12 classrooms while assessing expertise and materials from working scientists in our CoSTEM.

Are there particular challenges that result from this structure?
We are understaffed (as are many institutions) and while the above opportunities exist, there are a couple of us who get stretched very thin between undergraduate and MAT science teacher preparation, MAED ane EdD science education theses and dissertations, projects with the CoSTEM, and outreach with regional schools.

Funding

There are currently no grants or budget lines. Our dean has been fairly gracious with discretionary funds, but having no consistent budget makes planning difficult. Our last substantial, international work with an NSF grant ended in 2024. We have since received several small awards ($17000-$75000), but have exhausted those funds in the various research projects.

How has this funding structure influenced the undergraduate STEM education programming the center offers?
The undergraduate STEM education program works on a shoestring most of the time. Occasionally, we are able to write in this program specifically in various grants.

What are the specific advantages of having a center funded in this way?
The only advantage has been our deans (three in the last four years) have been supportive to the extent that their budgets allow. We need a consistent budget line though.

What are the challenges?
Two professors are insufficient to manage the program we envision.
No consistent budget makes planning extremely difficult.

Has this funding structure has changed over time?
The center started with a $50,000 grant and then $15000/year from a philanthropist. When that funding ended, we were left with only the dean's discretionary funds.

Description of Programming

Using upper-level undergraduate students, we have developed good relationship with local elementary and middle schools in which our students learn strategies for engaging young learning in inquiry science and, then, get to practice their skills under our mentorship in the schools. The program helps preservice teachers gain confidence with hands-on science and promoting deeper inquiry while classroom teachers gain the benefit of extra hands and often adopt new evidence-based strategies.
We engage our graduate (MAED and EdD) students with innovations in the classroom whereby objective eyes can collect and analyze data on the effectiveness of experimental lessons and techniques.
We have also conducted evaluation work on educational effectiveness for an international physics research program for undergraduate students in France, Czech Republic, and Poland.

Successes and Impacts

It would be hard to summarize a singular impact. The encouraging sign in our area is that the atmosphere for collaboration in schools has turned more favorable since we (Drs. Donna and Philip Short) arrived 10 years ago. Receptivity to trying new approaches, deference to science, and a general openness to the science education research has been noted with many more school officials reaching out to us for assistance.

Evaluation and Assessment

How does your center demonstrate its value, both in terms of assessing its own programming and responding to external evaluation?
Yes, we have had a couple of grant-funded projects to evaluate both academic achievement and attitudes towards science before and after programming.

Elements Contributing to Success

While all factors mentioned above influence our success (and obstacles), it is clear that developing the relationships and trust with school districts as well as our College of STEM colleagues has been a key to our measured progress.

Supplemental Materials